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Capitol building in D.C. getting a facelift

Restoration work is well underway at the U.S. Capitol. The $60 million project is expected to be completed in time for the 2017 presidential inauguration.

President Abraham Lincoln held his first inauguration outside the building in 1861, while the dome was still under construction.

The primarily cast iron dome is now leaking and rusting, and also jeopardizing important artwork inside, according to the Architect of the Capitol. Pin hole cracks in the Statue of Freedom, atop the dome, are allowing water inside. There are more than 1,000 documented cracks and deficiencies, caretakers of the Capitol building say.

Netting has been installed inside to protect people from the possibility of falling objects inside the rotunda. Workers will remove old paint, seal seams, with something that looks like a caulk gun, and repaint the structure.

The last significant exterior restoration was finished in 1960. To see some great behind-the-scenes photos of the current work, check out the official website.

This is actually the second dome on the U.S. Capitol. The first was much smaller, made of wood and masonry and covered in copper. It was a fire hazard and it leaked. In 1855, Congress authorized the dome we all know now, which was much larger and inspired by European cathedrals.

Crowning the dome is the Statute of Freedom, a woman holding a sheathed sword, a shield of the United States and a wreath, according to the Capitol Visitors Center. She wears a feathered headdress, a nod to Native Americans.

If you look closely, below, you can see workers on the balcony, just to the left of the scaffolding.

Significant work is being done at night, including the job of adding to the scaffolding. Here’s a shot from around 9;30 p.m. one night this week when there appeared to be just one workman — that glimpse of yellow — near the top of the scaffolding in this blurry shot of the structure.

Excuse the bad night photography. Here’s a wider shot.

Here’s more and more about the project to restore the more than 150-year-old dome.